How to Differentiate Machine Learning From Dressed-up BI

Machine learning is the use of computing resources that have the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed -- that is, acquire and apply knowledge and skills that maximize the chance of success. That definition of machine learning, provided courtesy of Rob Clyde, vice-chair of the ISACA board of directors and board director and executive chair to White Cloud Security is a pretty standard explanation. Machine learning is a cognitive system that has the potential to learn from interactions and then deliver evidence-based answers to a problem. But you'd never know that from the many vendors that purport to offer a machine-learning based application that is really something else -- usually a dressed-up business intelligence solution against which SQL queries are run. Such vendors are prevalent, says Padraig Stapleton, VP of Engineering at Argyle Data, "Machine learning and AI are two terms that are abused a lot. You talk to a vendor and it will tell you that it has machine learning or AI but then you talk further to them about how the applications really works and it becomes clear that they do not."